* Strong winds and high waves lashed the eastern Philippines on Monday as the strongest typhoon ever recorded in April barrelled past in the Pacific Ocean, killing one man and triggering flooding in lower-lying communities, disaster officials said. * The Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it is expelling 20 staffers of the Czech embassy in Moscow in response to the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic. * Nearly 192.13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Sunday, the National Health Commission said Monday. The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 11 new imported COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 90,510, according to the commission. * The COVID-19 vaccination program in Laos is underway and the majority of people in target areas have had their first dose of the vaccine. The Lao government plans to vaccinate at least 150,000 people in the initial stages of the program. * Cambodia on Monday predicted that international tourist arrivals to the kingdom this year would decline by another 70 percent due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The report of the Ministry of Tourism said the Southeast Asian country received 1.31 million international tourists in 2020, down 80 percent from 6.61 million in 2019. * Malaysia started phase 2 of its national immunization program against COVID-19 on Monday, expanding to other high risk groups following the vaccination of the country's frontliners. * The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 4,952 within one day to 1,609,300, with the death toll adding by 143 to 43,567, the Health Ministry said on Monday. * Brazil's COVID-19 death toll on Sunday reached 373,335 after registering another 1,657 fatalities, the country's ministry of health reported. According to the ministry, another 42,980 cases were registered, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 13,943,071. * Just more than half of US adults have now received at …
Trump canada wall
Investor committed to start construction of Long Thành International Airport’s terminal in early 2022
Tiling of pavements in a residential neighbourhood meant for the households having to relocate to make room for the Long Thành International Airport in the southern province of Đồng Nai. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Phong HÀ NỘI — The State-run Airports Corporation of Việt Nam (ACV) said it is committed to start construction of Long Thành International Airport’s passenger terminal early next year. ACV, which is the investor of the expensive and ambitious transport hub project in the southern province of Đồng Nai, told the transport ministry in a meeting held on Monday that the first component of the project – demining – is ongoing, while walls surrounding the land intended for the project (1,810ha of priority area) are being simultaneously carried out. The whole thing is expected to be complete by September this year. ACV asked Đồng Nai Province’s authorities to continue supporting the contractors in ensuring security and protecting the boundary markers during the entire project. Ground levelling, water drainage, and other essential works, will then follow so that the construction of the passenger terminal of the airport can begin in early 2022. At the meeting, ACV also requested the authorities to soon finish land acquisition for land clearance at the two roads connecting to the airport, with an “appropriate compensation scheme” for the affected households. Cao Tiến Dũng, Chairman of Đồng Nai Province People’s Committee, said that a compensation scheme has already been approved by the Government and used in thousands of cases of affected households. However, recently the State Audit Office of Việt Nam after review has recommended some changes to this approved scheme, but if the province is to follow through and cut down on the compensation level for the remaining households that have not moved yet would certainly lead to complaints and hinder land clearance progress. Therefore, Đồng Nai has asked the Government to maintain the compensation scheme …
VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS APRIL 19
Vietnamese businesses look to further optimise opportunities from CPTPP After two years of implementing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the use of the deal to generate benefits for the economy and businesses has remained modest, according to insiders. Among 14 free trade agreements (FTAs) Vietnam has signed, the CPTPP is a new generation FTA with high standards and the highest level of facilitation. Vietnam has been forecast to be one of the members that benefits the most from the deal. However, the country has experienced challenges in optimising the FTA because of its modest level of development and competitiveness. Due to US-China trade tensions and the impact of COVID-19, the global economy fell into crisis last year with interrupted supply chains. Vietnam also suffered an economic downturn. Therefore, after two years of implementation, the benefits from the CPTPP are still to be seen. Vu Tien Loc, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that positive results in the two years of implementation include the reform of institutions and administrative procedures. Explaining the modest benefits so far, Loc said major reasons include the poor competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises, market instability, and the low capacity of State agencies. Meanwhile, Nguyen Cam Trang, Vice Director of the Import-Export Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the CPTPP has helped promote Vietnam’s exports. However, its market share and export growth to the six partners that have implemented the CPTPP have been low. She noted that Vietnam’s market share is 3.1 percent in Japan, 1.9 percent in Australia, 1.6 percent in New Zealand, 1.3 percent in Mexico, 1.1 percent in Canada, and 1 percent in Singapore. Growth in exports to CPTPP markets was 12.2 percent in 2018, 13 percent in 2019, and 12.02 percent in 2020, Trang added. She said that, in the future, …